"We are going to surprise Barcelona and we are going to win this final." This confident
statement wasn't from the mouth of a drunk Basque fisherman in a Bilbao bar. Or one of the 20,000
fans who watched their teams final training session at San Mames. It was spouted by in form
Athletic Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente.
Barcelona face Athletic Bilbao at the Camp Nou tonight, taking a 2-1 aggregate lead from the first
leg away at San Mames.The game should turn out to be an easy affair for Barcelona with Athletic
Bilbao not placing much importance on the fixture, opting to save them for the Europa league
qualification game against Tromso later.
Athletic Bilbao have enjoyed a notable start to the season, sitting in eighth place in La Liga
following the weekend's 2-2 draw away at Real Valladolid, as Joaquin Caparros has led the team to
one of their brighter La Liga starts in recent years.
Caparros, who made his name as Sevilla manager, has constructed a team that is certainly not
lacking in quality.